Sirup maker



Nov. 22, 1927; 1,649,834

` l lF. B. LOMAx v v s'IRUP MAKER Filed July 12, i926 s sheets-sheet 2 Nov. 22, 1927. 1,649,834

F.B.LoMAx sIRuP MAKER Filed July 12, 1926 s sheets-sheet s Patented Nov. 22, 1927.

lifII'IRAIYIK-1B.LOMIAJLZGF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

SIRUP. MAKER.

1 Application .filed July 12,

llreip'resent invention in -generalfp'ertains 4 to yfilters and more particularly' to apparatus for making filter-'ed solutions.

iMore: specifically I contemplate. 'the pro- 6 vision -of an improved sirup maker such as lthat disclosedin my Patent 1,565,661, .issued 'December' 15, i925.

'In practice I find that there is' consider# abledemand for a. relatively simple andin- 10 expensiveufilter and sirupy maker. To meet' l this "demand` Il have, after considerable lexperimentation, y(':leveloped the' machine to lbe disclosed herein. f This machine, v"although of affmuch cheaper construction than that d.is closed in vmy (zo-pending patent applications, Serial Nos. 629,807 and' 106,323 filed April 4, 1923 and y May I 8, y12926, respectively, is adapted .tor form and filter a comparatively great vamount of solution in a minimum of time. l

Y My present invention employsv a novel filtering barrier which is of a relatively sim pleand inexpensive construction. This barrier Acomprises ajperforated metallic mount-V ing plate and a filtering pad or felt resili-y ently secured tothe said plate; 'Iheresilient means for fastening the ypad to the plate may; consistfof a plurality ofsprings which serve to :at all times fasten the felt tothe. perforated plate in proper alignment therewith.

I have tried to fasten a filter `pad or felt to the rigid mounting plate .by means of a string or cord,.butV find that this .isnot practica'lsince the pad cannot, with facility, .be properly aligned with the .plate when string is utilized as the vfastening medium. Also, the fuse of string requires av relatively great period of-time to replace Worn out .or deteriorated yfelt pads.

In the filtering barrier vconstruction of my present i'nvention.,.the felt pad' may be properly aligned and'secured to the perforated plate with facility. The spring arrangement enablesthe ready removal of the pad for the purpose of replacement.

Another feature of my present invention pertains tothe ina-nner inwhich I mount the p filtering barrier in .thegcontaineizA The bar- Vrier of fmy presentv machine is draw-n into' V tight Contact' Witlrthe bottomof the container by means ofv atubular element which serves to fasten the container to its support and..alsoservesasan outlet for the container.

A further lfeature of my inxf'ention pertains-tothe provision .of arelativelysmall 192e'. serial '1110.121388. Y p Y y path. of circulation for the filtered Lliquidflb'eV`V lng impelled4 bythe lsuction pump. I have accomplished this 'by extending the' return tubeft'hrough an aperture in` theWa-'ll of the container 'immediately over the: Abarrier gfthe ti'iberbeing adaptedto `project liquid ontothe topiof the barrier. e i

"A still further feature of my invention has to dowi'th'the novelma'nner in' which I arrangedI the pump with respect to the .re-

turn tube. In. other Words, the tube is p`osi. i

tion'eddirectly in alignment @with the discharger orifice of the pump"Whichjisjpreferf ably' actuated by a Vconventional motor. lBoth the pum-p' and Vits motor" are mounted .upon abracket fastened toone of the llegs'ofmy machine. l Thisarrangement permits of vthe ready assembly of they parts with a" minimum of labor andf'time.`

yOther objects and'advanta'ges of 'my in-y vention will more fully' appear'from'the following' detailed descriptionstaken in .connection with tlief accompanying .drawings which. illustrate several embodiments thereof, and infwhich;

vFigure 1v is a vsideelevation.'offmy: novel l.

machine; f YFigure 2 :isi a' plan vi'eW yofi-the y.machine illustrated7 in Figure l;v l y V' l vEigu're 3 is an' enlarged planview of the filteringV barrier; p,

Figure4 is a ysectional view taken on substantially' the lined-Lof Figure 3 illustrating' 'the novel manner in which" I ksecure the barrier tothe bottom.. ofthe container;

Fig'ure 5 is a sectional View illustrating the mounting for .the agitator shaft, y

'Figure' 6 is a. fragmentary sectional -vieW similar to'` Figl illustrating .a modification of myv invention; andl I i y, VFigure 7 is an -elevationvpar of another: form of :the present: invention.

Referring now to'gthe drawings in'det'ail in which like reference numerals; designate similar parts .thronghoutzthe several views, 10 denotes atank or container Whiclrinay be made. of any suitablemetallic material. I preferably coatl the tank with enamel for sanitary purposes. The tank lOis provided .with a curved .shaped` bottoml 1.1` and is adaptedito Arest npon. asupport .12. preferably made of iron..A The supportlQincludes.three legs, 13, 14 and 15, whiclr are equidistantly spaced from each other. lThe ylegsg--are interconnectedby a circular ring ortop ortion in section i6", beveledat-.the inside .las indicate at tc accommodate the convexly depressed bottom `11 of the tank. Formed integral with the ring portion 16 are a plurality of spiders 18 curved downwardly. The spiders are spaced from the bottom 11 as indicated at 19` and are provided with a substantially central hub portion 2O equipped with an opening 21 through which extends a discharge or outletpipe 22.

The container l() is divided into an upper compartment 23 and a lower compartment 24 through the medium of a diaphragm, partition or filtering element 25. The filtering barrier 25 comprises a perforated metallic plate 26 preferably of Monel metal. The platey 26 is of a circular construction and has secured to its rim or edge an annular flange 27. Theiiange 27 is preferably provided with a plurality of apertures or holes 28. This annular flange 27 may be secured to the edge of the annular plate 26 in any suitable manner, for example, by spinning this flange on the edge of the plate. I have illustrated the flange as being spun on the plate 26 (Figure The plate 26 is provided with a substantially central aperture or holel 29. Positioned below the hole 29 and in axial alignment therewith is a ring or annular element 30 provided with a plurality of apertures 31. Positioned on top of the plate 26 is a filtering element or felt pad 32 which is of a substantially larger diameter than the plate 26. This pad 32 has an annular portion 33` bent over the flange 27 of the plate.` Also this felt 32 has an annular portion'34 bent under the flange 27 as shown in Figure 4. The annular portion 34 is provided Awith a plurality of eye-lets 35 preferably twelve in number. Each eye-let 35 is connected to the hole 31 in the ring30 by means of a vspring 36. Each spring 36 includes a hook 37 adapted to engage the eyelet35 and a hook 33 adapted to fit in the hole 31 of the ring` 30. Obviously, by unhooking the springs from the' turned-back edge or portion 34 of the felt pad, the pad may be removed with facility from the plate.

Furthermore, the springs 36 extend radially from the ring 30 and are adapted to properly align the felt with respect to the plate. By using the springs it is a comparatively simple task to either detach or attach a felt pad to the plate 26. VOf course, it is to be understood that although l have disclosedv felt as being the preferred form of filtering material that any other analogous filtering material may be used in place of the felt pad.

As is evidentvfrom Figure 4, the barrier 25 is adapted to be positioned in the lower part of the container 10 to divide the same into the two compartments 23 and 24. The barrier 25 rests upon the bottom 11 of the tank 10 with its portion 34 in engagement with the inner wall of the tank. It should be noted that theflange 23 extends obliquely from the plane of the plate 26 and that the edge of the flange 28 constitutes a guide over which the felt is pulled by the springs Positioned in the space 24 or rather the compartment 24 below the filtering barrier 25 is an annular member 40 comprising an annular ring 41, a plurality of spiders 42, and a central hub portion 43. The hub portion 43 is secured., to the upper end 'of the discharge pipe 22, as shown in Figure 2. Connected to this upper end ofthe pipe 22 is a bolt 44 having a threaded shank 45 extending up through the opening 29 in the plate 26 and through a similar aperture in' the felt pad 32. The filtering barrier 25 is tightly fastened to the bottom of the container by means of a wing nut/46 threaded on the tank 45. I preferably dispose a washer 47 intermediate the wing nut 46 andv the felt pad 32 of the filtering barrier 25.V

B v removing the washer 47 andthe `wing nut 46 the filtering barrier may be removedv with facility from the container. It should also be noted that the periphery of the filtering barrier abuts the bottom of the container and that the central portion of the filter 25 is tightly clamped to the hub portion 43 by means of the bolt V44 andthe wing nut 46. y

The pipe 22 is provided with a plurality of openings 48 which communicate with the lower compartment 24'. Also, surrounding the pipe 22 in thespace 19 ybetween the bottom of the tank 10 and spiders 18 is an arcnate shaped washer 49 adapted to accommodate itself to the curved surface of the loot-V tom 11 of the tank. Threaded on the pipe 22 is a nut 50 for locking the pipe against upward displacement.

`Also threaded on the lower end of the pipe 22 is a nut 51 whichv abuts the hub 2O of the support or stand. Connected tothe pipe 22 is a radially extending pipe 52 (Figure 2). 'The pipe 52 is disposedina plane at'right angles to that of the vertical pipe 22.` The end vof theA pipe 52, `as shownin Figure 2, is provided with ar valve 53 by means of which the contents below the filtering barrier may be withdrawn from themachine. The pipe 52 is provided with a T 54 intern'iediate its end to which is connected a' pipe 55. The pipe 55 is in turn connected to a gear pump 57 adapted to suck liquid through the filtering barrier 25. The discharge orifice from the `gear pump 57 is con-v spectively. By operating the valve 53 liqltshould be noted i uid may be Withdrawn from 'thetankfbeforew it reaches the pump] 57;'vr O'n'theother-hand,y by operating vthe Vvalvey 59 liquid "may be'v withdrawn, through they spigot 60 before the same is returned tothe tank,but afterl it has ,'.passedY through ythek pump "57;y

The upper end `or" the 'tube'- Sis equipped;

with a. laterally: extending.' `pipe i '62 `Vwhich projects 'through' an opening 63 'in the. Wall of the Vtank 110. The end of the Ypipe 62 1I1 sideiot'the container v10 is'connectedtofa downtake pipepll" having afnozzl'e 65' 'connecte'd to its lowerxendf The Vlnozzle 65', 1s

preferably "of a forked Construction, andiiriv realityconstitutes two nozzles Thisnozzle (l5-'is ad; ptedtol project liquid-onto thev top o't' the` barrier for the-purpose `of sweeping the .same-clean ofv any solidmattein The #nozzle constructionv 65Y in" real-ityY servesffas anV agitator-0r preventing-anysolute such as sugar from caking on the filtering-barrierQ. The purpose ot this nozzle construction maybe 'moreA fully understood-by referringto my copend-ing patent application, SerialANo". 196,323, filed May 3,

The pump 57fis connected to a motor 70 by means ofl anV extension 67'y formed integral with themotor- 70lA The operating mechanism'ffoffthe'pump V57 yis connected to the shaft of the motorinside of this extension 67 by the means of any suitable clutch'bu coupling (not shown), Which-does notconstitute, .per-se,A any part of the `present 1nvention.` Theemotor 7011s mountedf'on a bracket 7l'fas'tened-tofthe side fof the leg'lll.' This varrangement permits.' oa Irelatively-Vv small circulatory path over which the. .fill

tratehas totravel. Als`o5this arrangement permits the assembly ovfthevgear and `pipe unit-s Withl a minimum of labor and time.

means oit a belt=-7 7. The pulley 7 8.'is fastened to a shaft 79 which extends throughithevwalli..

of the -tanlrlO and has secured to `its end inside olfthe tank: an agitator 8O.'y 'lhe-shattvv 79 'extends.througha sleeve i Sl' 'formed intef gral .With'a .plate 83.' The plate 83 is disposed'onfthe outside of .thetanlr 10 andthe sleeve8l extends inwardly through'an opening :82 in thefwall yof thetankV .andthrouglran opening 8l' in a plate .85. Each 'ot the plates*I S-Sfaiid 85 arescurved in .shape so.-asto.enable themV to racconnnodate vthemselves to the lar- "cuate sha-pe of. theitank Wall. l.Positioned bei' tween; the wall ofthe tanlrandthe 'plate 83' is asrubberpaclring87 and-positioned inter` mediate the .f Wall :o1c the tank; and Vthexplate isl a -rubberpaClringSS- The-:endl ofaathe sleeve 81 inside:of.:thestenkel()iisgthreaded'y adapted to'V drawfthe-tWo-'plates-f-SS! and 851' toward each other and into tight engagement This projectedfj'et of liquid serves to aid the Bid lably of 'an arcuate 'shape sorasfto enable it :tof/vv properly abut -the;plate 85-.f' Threaded on this -e'ndfof -the sleeve l'Sl'lis a 'nut' 90fwhieh-'is with the -Wall lofthe -tankf` Secured to the shaft A'79' outsideof `thegtank'lil and inten-'1 mediate the plat-e 83 Jand the pulley1178 isfa stuliing boxV designated 'generally-by vthVe'lref-AQ erence character 92-Which ventional .c'oi'lstructionaY may bev of anycomy By making the platesarcuatein shapfl L find that they -are prevented Y fromfbe1ng--r0 tatedby the revolving shaft 79 when: the agiz tator 8() is in operation'.- The platesf83'aind y 85 may be made of suitable castings and are:-

relatively 'simple' `and' inexpensive y to Ymarnifacture. i These plates cooperateytogether to;`

The roperation of my present.sirupfmaker.: is briefly-asfollows:A Y The solute to be dissolved-Whichmay-be@ formaseal around the shaft'l79landfconsti- .55W

-tnte an ideal supportfor the shaft 79.

sugar is first-placed in' theeontainerl() `uponH "l0 ilthe barrier v25. Then the solvent orzliquidfis. s.

placed on top of thel sugar.. 'mass 'ot solid matterl andfliquid the vagitator '1 is set .intooperation lby turning 'Ourthe/- the sugar-or solute from caking on thefiilter-'Q ing' barrier -assal ready :pointed-out vvand di'sl cussed in my co-pendingA .patent applicationA vSerial No; 1,106,323,2file'd1 May 3,19%:'

Thereafter, the .motor-70- islturned on. to r; actu atethe suction #pump 57'! Whiclrfwithby 'draws .liquidfrom below: thefbarrier.v and cire lc'u'lates it :backinto the Stop fof, ftlie2-tankr.

adapted to create arpartialv vacuumbelowthe .fr

filtering lbarrier 25 to.y augment: therdissolv-r ing and..ilteringtaction:v The liquid'iiltrate.` discharged fromuthe-,nozzle .65 iis projected across the -top .offthei filtering barrier 25.

agitator 80''in :preventing solid lmatter fronr. cakingon the-filteringbarrier.`

' In" the operation-of'my suctionfsolution. forming apparatus I have found 1 that the .pressure diflerence create'dlbyl the fpumpv .1 tends to compress the felt.` filter.

highly desirable@teature,l inasmuchfas .itA

This is va greatly improves the lilter-inglqualities ofthe felt. In.' fact, I-find fthatsuch' a felt when" compressed is' forfmost- `purposes 'as :good a' n filter as .lil'ter-papenr It shouldfalsowbe 1observed: that I have utilized ay single barrierv both as a filtering.;

ToA stirl this tolli.

l los.

medium. Vandas .a `support for thepsolutethus providinga f very economical construction adapted to'beeasilyassembled;V

lVhenV allithez-.sugar -or solute has '.heen, dis-v solved in the` liquid, the .valvew59ilmay *be-face tuated and-'the :.liquid.mays.l be.v Withdrawn I fromrthe contanersthrough.fthe'meansn the faucet 60. To completely'drain the tank 10 the nozzle 56 is inserted in the pipe-line 52. The filtering barrier 25, as previously pointed out, may be removed with facility from the tank 10 by unscrewing the wingnut 46.

Also in order to completely drain the tank after the sirup is made, the filter should be as flat as practical. ing the filter flat rather than curved in cross section it is possible to withdraw all of the liquid from the tank after the sirup is made by means of the suction device. This arrangement also enables the use of a relatively heavy felt filter since the liquid is sucked therethrough rather than permitted to gravitate.

On the other hand, if a concave or Convex filter is employed a thin porous filtering medium must be used so that the filtrate can percolate or seep therethrough freely, for obviously, once the partial vacuum in my apparatus is broken, the suction device loses its force and some liquid will he left on the curved surface of the filtering barrier. In other words, once the vacuum is broken,V this liquid will have to gravitate or seep through the barrier and if the filter was not highly porousit would require the elapse of a long period of time before all vof the liquid would be drained from the tank.

In Figure 6 I have illustrated another method of positioning the filtering barrier.

It will be lobserved that this arrangement is substantially vlike that shown in Fig. 4 with the exception that the filtering barrier 25 extends clear to the wall of the tank. Since all of the parts in this modification are. substanti-ally identical'to those shown in Figure 4 I have applied the same reference characters thereto, with the exception that these numerals are primed in order to prevent confusion vof the numbers;V

The advantage of this construction resides in the fact that the annular ring-like space between the barrier and the inner wall of the tank is eliminated thus `facilitating the drainage of the liquid from the tank when the vacuum is broken. In practice I found that in draining the tank after the sirup was made, some liquidremained inthe aforesaid intermediate annular pocket when `the vacuum was. broken. In order to solve this difficulty I devised the arrangement illustrated in Figure (i which eliminates the an nular pocket and thu-s enables all of the liquid'to be Vexpeditiously drainedfrom the tank. i

In Figure 7 I have illustrated another type of mounting forv the filtering barrier. The tank 10 and its stand are identical to that shown in Fig. 1- with the exception of the fastening between the tank and the stand which will be described hereinafter.

4 The tankv 10 is provided with an arcuate That is to say, by makshaped bottom 11 adapted to `rest on the stand 12..V Resting onthebottom of the tank is a filtering barrier comprising a Monel metal foraminated plate 101, and a filtering element `or felt 102. The plate abuts the peripheral portion of nthe bottomV Y 11". .The felt 102 has a peripheral edge 103 which extends upwardly along the inner pe-V the discharge or outlet pipe 22. This pipe v is threaded into an opening in the bot- Vtornll and. is held in position by means of a nut 20". y y

'Ihe operation of the two modifications of my invention, illustrated as Figure-s 6 and 7 n is believed to be obvious from the ydescription of the form of the invention shown in Fig. 1. N ow I desire it understood that although I have illustrated and described in detail the preferred embodiments of my invention, the invention is not to be limited thereby but only in so far as claimed by the scope and spirit` of the appended claims. I- claim: 1. A filter comprising a vforaminous plate, a layer of filtering material disposed on a side thereof, and resilient means disposed on the other side ofsaid plate and connected to an'edgeof'said layer to secure said layer' of filtering material to said plate.

l ou

2. A Ifilter comprising a foramlnous pla-te,

a layer of pliable filtering material disposed on said plate and havingits edge turned over the rim of the plate'onto the underside of the plate, and a plurality of resilient elements extending across said underside -ofy the plate and connected to the turned back .portion of the layer for fastening said layer.

to said plate.

3. A filter comprising a. perforatedvfmetallic plate, a metallic ring disposed substantially centrally of said plate, av layer of felt positioned on top of said plate and having Vits edge turned back over the rim of the plate onto the underside of the plate, and a plurality of substantially radial springs for connecting said turned back edge of the felt to said central ring to tightly secure said layer of felt tothe top of the plate.

4. A. filter comprising a foraminous plate, a layer `of filtering material disposed on a side thereof, a metallic element disposed on the other side of said plate and resilient means'associated with said element for connecting an edge of said layer of filtering material to said element to secureA said layer of filtering material to said plate.

ilo

5. A filter comprising a foraminousplate, a layer of filtering material disposed on one side thereof, an element positioned on the other side of said plate, and resilient means including a plurality oi radiallyl disposed springs for connecting an edge of said layer to said element to secure said layer to said spring.

6. A filter comprising atoraminous plate and a layer of filtering material resiliently secured thereto.

7. A `filter comprising a oraminous plate, a layer of filtering material associated therewith, and a plurality of radially disposed springs for securing thesaid filtering material to the said plate adapted to vbe readily detached to permit removal of the layer from the plat N 8. A ilter comprising a circular perforated plate, a circular layer of filtering material of larger diametery than `said plate positioned on one side ot the plate, a plurality of eye-lets formed in the peripheral edge of the layer, said peripheral edge being bent over'the rim of the plate With said eyelets positioned on the underside of 'said plate, and resilient means :tor inter-connecting ksaid eye-lets on the underside of said plate to secure the ilter layer thereto.

9. A filter comprising a foraminous plate, and a layer of iiltering material resiliently secured thereto through the means of eyelets formed in the peripheral portion of saidv layer of filtering material.

l0. A filter comprising a circular foraminous plate, a layer of filtering material positioned on top of said plate and having a peripheral portion turned back over the rim of said plate, eye-lets formed in the said peripheral portion, rand resilient means assoeiated with said underside of the plate for interconnecting said eye-lets and to secure said layer to said plate.

ll.r A filtering barrier comprising a foy raminous plate, a layer of filtering material disposedon one side thereof, said plate having integral therewith an annular flange portion extending laterally therefrom, the edge ofthe said filtering material being bent over the edge Lof the plate and over said `flange portion, and resilient means disposed on the other side of said platesubstantially in the space defined by the said flange portion and connected to an edge of thesaid layer to secure same to said plate. f

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribed my name this y10 day of July, 1926.

' c FRANK B. LOMAX. 

